Jack and Winnie Sandford got married in 1933 and have
been together 77 years, longer than anyone else on earth, but according to
98-year-old Jack it is a living hell. ‘Every morning I wake up and wish I was
dead. Or better still she was.’

‘We are staying together for the sake of the kids,’ said
Winnie, 96. ‘It would destroy them if we were to break up. If it weren’t for
them I would have left years ago. I am not an unattractive woman. I have had
offers in the past, and I see how the man at the mobility shop looks at me, but
I have to put my children first.’

However, their children, who both still live at home
disagree. Their eldest son, Howard, 76 says: ‘I wish they would split up. We
hate hearing them argue. It’s not so bad for me, but my little sister Emily gets
really upset by it.’

Emily, 72, continues: ‘Howard is older than me and goes
out with his friends quite a lot so isn’t around as much. When it gets really
bad I just go to my room and turn the wireless up loud to try and drown out the
sound of them shouting and swearing at each other.’

But Jack is adamant that he and Winnie are going to stick
it out. ‘We have heard that children from broken homes are more likely to end up
becoming involved in crime and anti-social behaviour. We don’t want that for our
children,’ he says. ‘They deserve a future.’